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COLOGNE, Germany—I am an X-Wing pilot, flying high above the molten rock of Sullust, ducking my way through streams of green energy blasts. I am a TIE Fighter pilot, chasing down rebel scum with my impossibly fast ion engines and well-placed homing missiles. I am 10 years old again.

As someone who was totally obsessed with the likes of Lucasarts' TIE Fighter and X-Wing games back in the day—going as far as to persuade my parents to buy me a pricey Microsoft SideWinder Precision Pro joystick to get the "full experience"—Star Wars Battlefront's new Fighter Squadron mode is a wonderful thing indeed.

That's not say Fighter Squadron is a replacement for those earlier games; it's a far more limited affair. But in lieu of a full-fledged sequel to X-Wing (how about a VR remake?), I'll take it. Besides, Fighter Squadron has its own charms outside of just being really, really ridiculously good looking.

Fighter Squadron is a huge, immensely chaotic thing. Its 20-player dogfights—comprised of both human players and bots—mean that there's rarely a moment to stop and think and ponder your next attack. The action is relentless, with laser fire, locked-on homing missiles, and the unforgettable screams of TIE Fighters constantly assaulting the senses.

For a quick fix that fulfils those Star Wars pilot fantasies, Fighter Squadron is ideal. But there is some depth to it, too. X-Wings feel very different to TIE Fighters, with the former being bigger, heavier, and less agile. And they're equipped differently, too, each with their own secondary power-ups in addition to being armed with a set of blasters and a homing missile, which is locked on by holding down the left trigger and keeping the enemy within sight.

The X-Wing has a shield boost, which you can use to regenerate the hull if you take a hit, while the TIE Fighter has a speed boost that's very useful for avoiding missiles or racing towards an objective. You also have to control your ship's power, deciding whether to push it all into the boosters to increase speed, or channel it to the blasters so you can fire for longer. These are just small tactical elements, but it's amazing just how taxing they can be to think about when you're in the firing line.

Victory, in the Gamescom demo at least, was awarded to the team with the most kills, but objectives like protecting transport shuttles and eliminating enemy frigates helped to break up the action. The usual array of arrows and HUD elements point out objectives and where enemy fighters are. While it's all a little overwhelming at first, it soon feels natural.

Locking onto enemy fighters and unleashing that finishing blast is wonderfully satisfying; pulling off an evasive manoeuvre like a 180-degree flip to escape an incoming missile is even more so. Both missiles and evasive manoeuvres are attached to a cooldown timer (about 10 seconds or thereabouts), so you have to use them strategically or face being left without your best means of attack and defence at just the wrong moment.

Power-ups scattered around the map can help reset cooldowns or restore shields, while another power-up puts you in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. (Score one for 10-year-old me again). It's a powerful ship, too, featuring heavy armour and cannons, along with homing missiles, a shield, and a speed boost. The final game will include Boba Fett’s Slave I on the Imperial side, along with TIE Interceptors. Rebels will also be able to pilot the A-Wing in addition to the X-Wing.

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You can play the game from either third-person or cockpit view, with the latter featuring detailed recreations of the spacecraft interiors. That said, flying first-person is much harder than in third-person. Aside from the reduced visibility, I found trying to lock onto targets in first-person mode nigh on impossible, with fighters zooming out of the reticule on the first beep. Being behind the ship made it much easier to track enemies, and unfortunately, given this is a competitive game, that means having to give up immersion for the sake of extra kills.

While there's no denying how much fun Fighter Squadron is when you're in the middle of a great dogfight, I can't help but think how much more could be done. How about a full campaign mode, complete with some epic space drama and real career progression through the Alliance? Or how about grand assaults on classic Star Wars systems, complete with a full Imperial fleet to back you up? There may well end up being more to Fighter Squadron than what was shown in the Gamescom demo, but at the very least, as a modern way of reliving those childhood dreams of fighting as a pilot in the Rebel Alliance, it's second to none.